Research
40% of Older Workers and Their Spouses Will Experience Downward Mobility
Inadequate retirement accounts will cause 8.5 million middle-class older workers and their spouses to be downwardly mobile, falling into poverty or near poverty in their old age.
ReLab's study of retirement wealth inequality between 1992 and 2010 finds that the retirement system is failing everyone, with those at the bottom suffering the most. Our corresponding policy note, "Extreme Inequality is Persistent, Even Among Those With Similar Earnings," discusses policies to address the inequalities baked into our system.
One-third of older workers have neither retirement savings through a 401(k) or IRA, nor a defined benefit (DB) pension.
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) can cause wage declines for workers who do not receive the tax credit.
Workers in low-wage households are more likely to experience economic shocks and to withdraw from their retirement accounts, exacerbating pre-existing inequalities in the retirement savings system.
This study evaluates a Social Security "Catch-Up" contribution program, a proposal which would help mid-career workers narrow the gap between what they need in retirement and their projected retirement wealth.
This study identifies what is driving the loss of bargaining power suppressing older workers' wages.
The rates of elder poverty among widows and single women are higher than among couples and men.
ReLab's new report, "Disparities & Erosion in New York’s Workplace Retirement Coverage," documents two trends in retirement plan coverage: 1) retirement plan coverage is declining for all New Yorkers, and 2) disparities in coverage continue to exist based on race, education and income.
About SCEPA
SCEPA works to focus the public economics debate on the role government can and should play in the real productive economy - that of business, management, and labor - to raise living standards, create economic security, and attain full employment.
